A Vietnamese-American top scientist on the air quality board has been accused of faking a Ph.D. degree in statistics from UC Davis, says the San Diego Union-Tribune on its blog site here.
Hien T. Tran is the lead author and project coordinator for a study by the California Air Resources Board. The study’s conclusion was the main justification for the air board’s sweeping new efforts to limit diesel emissions.
Apparently, in a letter, California EPA Secretary Linda S. Adams wrote, “Regarding the professional background of the authors, the lead author and project coordinator, Hien Tran, holds a doctorate degree in statistics from the University of California at Davis….”
An epidemiologist at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, James E. Enstrom, called on this piece of information. He sent a letter to the air board that includes this part:
“However, I have determined from the UC Davis Office of the University Registrar and the UC Davis Department of Statistics that Hien Tran holds NO Ph.D. in statistics from UC Davis. Also, I searched ProQuest Dissertation Express and found NO evidence of a dissertation on any subject from any university awarded to the Hien T. Tran employed by CARB.”
When Enstrom received no responses, he sent the letter to the Union-Tribune’s reporter Chris Reed. The air board refused comment, saying an investigation has been launched and citing employee privacy.
When the Bolsavik looked in ProQuest, he did find two Ph.D. dissertations by a Hien T. Tran.
One is from Harvard, in neurology/molecular biology, and the other is from Rensselaer, in mathematics.
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